"Morte. A self-professed 'famous' planar traveler who often poses as a mimir to–"
"Whoa, hey, hey! Zip it there, bud! I don't know who got you a defective mimir, Chief, but I'll tell you what's what from here out."
Planar travelers often find mimirs invaluable in learning about reality and avoiding doom at the hands, claws, fangs, tentacles, proboscises, ovipositors, and other appendages of the multiverse's countless predatory and lethally grumpy inhabitants.
Morte, however, isn't a mimir.
A floating skull with a penchant for speaking his mind and claiming expertise, Morte is one of Sigil's many unique inhabitants and an accomplished explorer of the planes. For the right amount of coin or a future favor, Morte is quick to offer his advice, insights, and commentary on the many inhabitants of the planes. This book contains useful data gleaned from Morte's stories and ramblings. Still, the planes are vast and varied, and what Morte experienced as true might not match all circumstances. Reader beware.
Using a Stat Block
This book is a companion to the Monster Manual and uses a similar presentation. If you are unfamiliar with the monster stat block format, read the 0 of the Monster Manual before proceeding. That book explains stat block terminology and gives rules for various monster traits—information that isn't repeated here.
The 0 sorts the creatures in this book by challenge rating. Most of these creatures appear in the "1" section, but those marked with an asterisk (*) appear in the "1" section.
Unusual Attacks and Magic
Some creatures have weapons that deal unusual damage types and spellcasting that functions in an atypical way. Such an exception is a special feature of a stat block and represents how the creature uses its weapon or casts its spells; the exception has no effect on how a weapon or spell functions for a different creature.
Meeting Magic Item Prerequisites
If a stat block contains the name of a class in parentheses under the creature's name, the creature is considered a member of that class for the purpose of meeting prerequisites for magic items.
Petitioners
Petitioners are former mortals. They've lived, ceased living, and now exist on the Outer Planes. They typically inhabit a plane that shares their alignment or the realm of a deity they worship. Some, however, become lost and wander the planes or make new homes for themselves elsewhere on the Great Wheel.
You can make any creature that isn't a Celestial or Fiend a petitioner by giving it the following traits:
Death and the Planes
Mortals that die eventually have their souls return as petitioners in far-flung reaches of the Outer Planes. There, they manifest as idealized versions of themselves. These forms might be similar to the forms they had in life or be those of entirely different creatures. A petitioner or another Celestial or Fiend that is destroyed can reconstitute on a plane that shares its alignment after 100 years, or it might choose to become one with that plane and never return. A creature that re-forms on the planes multiple times becomes increasingly dissimilar from its original mortal form.
Planar Influences
The Outer Planes are home to powerful forces of good and evil, chaos and order. Over time, these forces can alter creatures exposed to them. Due to their proximity to the Outer Planes, the inhabitants of the Outlands' gate-towns and nearby regions often exhibit traits associated with specific Outer Planes. Creatures might also have such traits if they dwell in other realms steeped in the energy of an Outer Plane—whether such a place be in the Outlands, on the Material Plane, or elsewhere.
This section provides customization options for creatures exposed to the energies of the Outer Planes for months or years. Creatures influenced by a plane can have as many or as few of these traits as you choose.
"Anything you think you know about critters from the Material Plane doesn't apply in the Outlands, Chief. Your dog back home ain't nothing like a hound from the Nine Hells or Mount Celestia. Only thing those planar sorts have in common is that neither wants to hear about how you're 'totally a dog person.'"
Planar Alignment
In addition to the plane-specific traits you can grant a creature, the influence of a plane changes a creature's alignment to match the plane's alignment, as shown on the Outer Plane Alignments table. If a plane a creature is influenced by has more than one alignment, you choose the creature's alignment from the options listed.
| Outer Plane | Alignment |
|---|---|
| 0 | CE |
| 0 | LN, LE |
| 0 | CG |
| 0 | LN, LG |
| 0 | NG, CG |
| 0 | NG, LG |
| 0 | NE, CE |
| 0 | NG |
| 0 | NE, LE |
| 0 | NE |
| 0 | CN |
| 0 | LN |
| 0 | LG |
| 0 | LE |
| 0 | CN, CE |
| 0 | CN, CG |
The Abyss
Creatures influenced by the Abyss gain demonic features, such as horns, scales, and black blood. A creature influenced by the Abyss also gains one or more of following traits of your choice:
Acheron
Creatures influenced by Acheron have rough, scarred skin that resembles armor or pitted metal. A creature influenced by Acheron also gains one or more of following traits of your choice:
Arborea
Creatures influenced by Arborea change color to match the season, and their eyes glint with vibrant hues. A creature influenced by Arborea also gains one or more of following traits of your choice:
Arcadia
Creatures influenced by Arcadia gain perfectly symmetrical features and appear eternally youthful or vigorous. A creature influenced by Arcadia also gains one or more of following traits of your choice:
The Beastlands
Creatures influenced by the Beastlands gain wilder or more animalistic features, such as larger eyes, thicker fur, or more prominent canine teeth. Beasts influenced by the Beastlands are often affected per the awaken spell—though normal Beasts also typically range through these areas in large numbers. A creature influenced by the Beastlands also gains one or more of following traits of your choice:
Bytopia
Creatures influenced by Bytopia appear carved, constructed, or sculpted by an expert artisan. A creature influenced by Bytopia also gains one or more of following traits of your choice:
Carceri
Creatures influenced by Carceri appear as if they'd been imprisoned underground for a long period; their hair is matted, their nails or claws are long and dirty, and they have marks as if they were bound by chains or rope. A creature influenced by Carceri also gains one or more of following traits of your choice:
Elysium
Creatures influenced by Elysium have seasonal flowers sprouting from their heads, and they faintly smell of herbs or spices. A creature influenced by Elysium also gains one or more of following traits of your choice:
Gehenna
Creatures influenced by Gehenna appear haggard and have long, crooked limbs. A creature influenced by Gehenna also gains one or more of following traits of your choice:
Hades
Creatures influenced by Hades often have dour, gray features and feel cold to the touch. A creature influenced by Hades also gains one or more of following traits of your choice:
Limbo
Creatures influenced by Limbo have their appearance shift at each dawn. Their skin might change color, or their features might morph into unnatural, even abstract, configurations. A creature influenced by Limbo also gains one or more of following traits of your choice:
Mechanus
Creatures influenced by Mechanus have angular, symmetrical features, and their skin gains a metallic sheen. A creature influenced by Mechanus also gains one or more of following traits of your choice:
Mount Celestia
Creatures influenced by Mount Celestia gain angelic features, such as gold- or platinum-colored skin, eyes, or hair. Spectral feathers might rise from a creature's back, or a halo might crown its head. A creature influenced by Mount Celestia also gains one or more of following traits of your choice:
The Nine Hells
Creatures influenced by the Nine Hells gain devilish features, such as horns, a forked tail, or the faint odor of sulfur or smoke. A creature influenced by the Nine Hells also gains one or more of following traits of your choice:
"The planes work on you in all sorts of ways, Chief. Sometimes they'll change your hair or give you spots. Other times they'll turn you into the sort of ugly little worm fiends love to snack on. If you're planning to visit one of the Outer Planes, best to keep your stay short–if you ever want to leave at all."
Pandemonium
A creature influenced by Pandemonium appears as though it were exposed to cold air for a long time, its skin dry and cracked. Its hair might blow in a phantom wind. A creature influenced by Pandemonium also gains one or more of following traits of your choice:
Ysgard
A creature influenced by Ysgard becomes hearty and muscular. Its scars always appear fresh. When the creature senses danger, it can't help but express joy. A creature influenced by Ysgard also gains one or more of following traits of your choice:
Denizens of the Outlands
As the Outlands are the crossroads of the Outer Planes, travelers in that realm might encounter any creature in existence, many of which have been influenced by other planes. The following sections detail the various creature types likely to be encountered in the Outlands. Use the tables in these sections to inspire encounters and whole adventures in the Outlands.
Aberrations
With their inscrutable biologies and agendas, Aberrations might journey to the Outlands pursuing all manner of schemes or sustenance. Slaadi from Limbo are among the most common Aberrations found on the Outlands.
| d4 | Encounter |
|---|---|
| 1 | An aboleth travels in a muck-filled, orbicular carriage, seeking to better understand the Outer Planes in preparation for a future world-domination scheme. |
| 2 | A beholder influenced by 0 has compound eyes and looks like a floating, cyclopean fly head. It promises not to destroy the characters if they bring it a corpse it has never tasted before. |
| 3 | A dejected red slaad wishes to be reunited with its slaad tadpole, but it isn't certain where—or in what—it implanted its egg. |
| 4 | A hirsute, axe-wielding flumph influenced by 0 quests across the land, seeking legendary beasts to slay and epic songs to sing. |
Beasts
Varied Beasts roam the Outlands, with many species being long extinct on Material Plane worlds. Plane-influenced creatures and gigantic or idealized animals from the Beastlands are common.
| d4 | Encounter |
|---|---|
| 1 | An awakened giant scorpion owns a custom-made boat and runs a ferry business along a prominent river. It offers its services to characters in need. |
| 2 | A triceratops influenced by 0 and composed of simple geometric shapes charges creatures that enter the angular canyons it inhabits. It moves only in straight lines and turns only at right angles. |
| 3 | Stirges drawn from countless worlds congregate in a tornado-sized, bloodsucking cloud that threatens a gate-town. |
| 4 | A desiccated giant frog influenced by 0 screams whenever it opens its mouth. Its interior is even noisier. |
Celestials
Various Celestials watch over the Outlands, particularly those reaches that border the Upper Planes. Angels and 1 (presented later in this book) are particularly common. Some seek to prevent fiendish incursions into the plane, while others try to align the Outlands closer to goodly philosophies.
| d4 | Encounter |
|---|---|
| 1 | An empyrean calls for aid in taking back a corner of the Outlands overrun by demons. |
| 2 | Wearing grim armor and displaying a rust-colored horn, a unicorn influenced by 0 challenges all it encounters to mortal combat. |
| 3 | A fallen deva, now neutral aligned, is on permanent vacation. The mellow angel is a font of multiversal secrets, but it shares them only with strangers who prove themselves more relaxed than it. |
| 4 | A couatl influenced by 0 has color-changing wings and insists passersby convince it that they're worthy of existing. If the couatl isn't convinced, it has a 50 percent chance of either attacking or wandering off. |
Constructs
Constructs in the Outlands might be the remnants of forgotten civilizations, servants of plane-walking magic-users, or creations with varied important or ridiculous purposes. Among the most common are modrons, mechanical denizens of Mechanus that seek to enforce order on the plane.
| d4 | Encounter |
|---|---|
| 1 | A tyrannical homunculus rules over the small domain of its long-lost archmage master. |
| 2 | A beautiful but vain flesh golem influenced by 0 insists on following a character until the character sketches, sculpts, or otherwise artistically renders it. |
| 3 | A gang of inquisitive monodrones and its duodrone leader insist on following a character, saying they expect that individual's doom to be "statistically noteworthy." |
| 4 | A clay golem influenced by 0 has been transformed into the walking hive that's home to numerous swarms of insects (wasps). |
Dragons
All varieties of Dragons can be found in the Outlands, though many dwell in isolated reaches away from the plane's gate-towns. Some remain aloof due to their territorial natures, while others seek to avoid the 3, home to the legendary dragon Chronepsis (see Sigil and the Outlands for details).
| d4 | Encounter |
|---|---|
| 1 | An ancient gold dragon disguised as a canary gives the characters a nonmagical item and offers them Bahamut's best wishes. |
| 2 | A lawful good faerie dragon with wings like stained glass has been influenced by 0. It seeks the characters' aid in recovering a stolen holy avenger. |
| 3 | A time dragon wyrmling (presented later in this book) wants help constructing a magical structure that will be important in the future. |
| 4 | A neutral evil adult silver dragon with dull, gray scales has been influenced by 0. It demands a toll from any who crosses its domain. |
Elementals
Elementals of all varieties can be found in the Outlands. Mephits are common and often serve more powerful creatures as messengers.
| d4 | Encounter |
|---|---|
| 1 | Water elementals travel in a group that looks like a long, wandering river. |
| 2 | Some skull-headed azers have been influenced by 0. They escort a heavily armored caravan of rare ore to the gate-town of Ribcage. |
| 3 | A wounded mud mephit asks the characters to help it deliver a sealed package to a leader in a nearby gate-town. |
| 4 | A wealthy dao that glistens with gemstones has been influenced by 0. It leads a parade of glimmering galeb duhr between gate-towns as part of a shopping spree for precious rocks. |
Fey
Being close to nature—even the surreal nature of the Outer Planes—Fey dwelling in the Outlands are often influenced by other planes. Fey encountered near a gate-town typically exhibit influences from the town's associated Outer Plane.
| d4 | Encounter |
|---|---|
| 1 | Revelers joined a group of satyrs in their festivities. As the satyrs' celebration has continued for over a year, the revelers seek the characters' help in extricating themselves without offending their hosts. |
| 2 | A kindly green hag influenced by 0 invites passersby to join her for tea in her cottage made of sweets. She makes some of the best cookies in the Outlands. |
| 3 | A pack of blink dogs tracks a band of maelephants (presented 1 in this book) to prevent them from spoiling lands influenced by the Upper Planes. |
| 4 | A gnarled dryad influenced by 0 seeks to entrap creatures within the root-snarled, prison-like cavern beneath her grove. |
Fiends
Denizens of the Lower Planes regularly invade the Outlands, seeking to shift the balance of the realm toward evil. The Blood War, the endless conflict between demons and devils, regularly spills onto the plane and can devastate whole regions.
| d4 | Encounter |
|---|---|
| 1 | A nycaloth seeks to capture several monochromatic hell hounds influenced by 0. The yugoloth seeks to sell the hounds to Fiends participating in the Blood War. |
| 2 | After being ambushed by a rival, a night hag merchant offers a reward to characters who help her recover her lost inventory: several dozen stray larvae (see the Dungeon Master's Guide). |
| 3 | A hero requests the characters' help in gaining the aid of a legendary steed called a nic'epona, a nightmare influenced by one of the Upper Planes. |
| 4 | Rival incubi seek to recruit the characters to serve either a balor warlord or a pit fiend general whose fiendish armies are prepared to clash nearby. |
Giants
Giants are common in the Outlands. Many gravitate toward regions influenced by planes corresponding with their alignments, but others seek to find the 3 of the giant god Annam (see Sigil and the Outlands for details).
| d4 | Encounter |
|---|---|
| 1 | Several cyclopes refuse to let the characters pass through a region where they're constructing a massive ring of beautifully carved standing stones. |
| 2 | An ettin influenced by 0 has one head with bovine features and one head with lupine features. It desperately needs help finding something both heads are willing to eat. |
| 3 | A storm giant seeks the characters' help in finding an offering of significant worth and size to impress the god Annam. |
| 4 | A jade-skinned oni from Bytopia has become separated from the spirit she was bound to protect. She requests aid in catching up to her lost ward. |
Humanoids
Humanoids from across the planes travel the Outlands and number among the most common inhabitants of the gate-towns.
| d4 | Encounter |
|---|---|
| 1 | The characters need to find a wandering priest who alone knows the ritual necessary to open a specific portal. |
| 2 | Several gnome mages seek help recovering their walking castle from a band of aggressive, spine-covered lizardfolk influenced by 0. |
| 3 | The characters stumble across a youthful or elderly commoner who doesn't know how they came to be in the Outlands and who wants only to go home. |
| 4 | A bandit captain and his gang seek the characters' help as they plan a heist in the realm of an immortal being, like the 3 or 3 (see Sigil and the Outlands for details on both locations). |
Monstrosities
Monstrosities are common in the Outlands. Due to the influence of the Outer Planes, many behave differently than they might on the Material Plane.
| d4 | Encounter |
|---|---|
| 1 | The characters are hired to recover cargo from a crashed vessel brimming with rare technology, but the wreckage is overrun with rust monsters. |
| 2 | The characters have to retrieve a treasure from a group of mischievous sprites. The sprites are secretly defended by mimics influenced by 0 that take the form of tiny, whimsical cottages. |
| 3 | A pride of displacer beasts stalks a band of traveling merchants. The merchants seek protection from the predators hunting them for sport. |
| 4 | A drider influenced by 0 runs a giant spider ranch. She hires the characters to hunt a rare breed of sunfly (detailed 1 in this book) that, when fed to her spiders, will allow them to produce a remarkable type of silk. |
Oozes
Oozes often appear in swampy or subterranean reaches of the Outlands or in regions influenced by the Lower Planes.
| d4 | Encounter |
|---|---|
| 1 | A yugoloth arms dealer has captured a hundred gray oozes and seeks to sell them in the gate-town of Rigus as a weapon capable of destroying Acheron's floating cubes. A rival hires the characters to steal and dispose of the oozes. |
| 2 | Within a gelatinous cube influenced by 0 floats a gigantic fiendish skull. Numerous Fiends revere the cube and interpret depraved schemes and threatening orders from its quivering. A Celestial seeks aid in destroying the cube. |
| 3 | A bog in a region influenced by 0 is swamped with countless black puddings. The characters are hired to recover a lost relic from the bottom of the bog. |
| 4 | A chef in the gate-town of 3 wants the characters to retrieve royal jelly from a hive of giant bees (use the giant wasp stat block). He doesn't note that the hive's honey takes the form of sweet-tasting ochre jellies. |
Plants
Plants in the Outlands often grow to incredible size, produce remarkable flowers or fruit, and exhibit bizarre shapes and colors. Regions influenced by other planes are typically first recognizable by the effect those planes have on vegetation.
| d4 | Encounter |
|---|---|
| 1 | A young treant wants to put down roots. It asks the characters to help it travel around the Outlands so it can find a suitable place to call home. |
| 2 | A myconid sovereign has convinced a group of githzerai monks to abandon their teachings and follow its path to serenity. Another githzerai hires the characters to oust the fungal guru. |
| 3 | An herbalist has cultivated a unique breed of gas spores. She hires the characters to convey the spores to her buyer without setting off the fungi. |
| 4 | A resident of the gate-town of 3 is missing. His garden of twig blights—influenced by 0 to resemble topiary sculptures—haven't been fed and now sow chaos in town. |
Undead
Undead often lurk in the dismal reaches of the Outlands, but some wander the land, either seeking places to spend eternity or preying on the living.
| d4 | Encounter |
|---|---|
| 1 | The characters find a trapped crawling claw. Rather than attacking, the severed hand can lead the characters to the thankful immortal who lost it. |
| 2 | A banshee influenced by 0 appears as a fallen knight-commander with a legion of specters. Guardians of the gate-town of Rigus hire the characters to help banish the phantom army. |
| 3 | A lich seeks to dominate the gate-town of Hopeless and see it dragged into Hades with himself as its ruler. Citizens of the gate-town entreat the characters to keep the gate-town hopeful enough that it doesn't fall into the Lower Plane. |
| 4 | Several confused ghost 0 have become lost. They seek someone to pass judgment on their lives and deliver them to the proper planes. |
"Some folks have notions about what sorts of creatures they don't expect to see around the Outer Planes. Like undead, for example–as if they can't grok how souls and vampires and zombies might all wind up on the same infinite planes. What can I say? The planes are wild, Chief–I'm unliving proof."
Planar Encounters
The following tables present random encounters adventurers might face across the Outlands or in other realms influenced by the Outer Planes. These tables are divided by the alignment of the planes affecting a region. Unless otherwise noted, creatures marked with an asterisk (*) appear in this book, while the rest are described in the Monster Manual.
If you wish to further customize these encounters, use traits detailed in the "0" section.
"Don't go thinking you've got a handle on the planes now, Chief. That's the surest way to find out you don't know the first thing about how they really work."